Moral Disengagement from Bullying: The Effects of Gender and Classroom

  • Author: Lenka Kollerová
  • Institution: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
  • Author: Pavlína Janošová
  • Institution: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
  • Author: Pavel Říčan
  • Institution: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 280-291
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/tner.14.37.3.22
  • PDF: tner/201403/tner3722.pdf

We examined the effects of gender and classroom membership on moral disengagement-cognitive justifications of detrimental conduct. Sixth-graders aged 11 to 13 years (N = 273) participated in the study. Bullying was registered using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and moral disengagement was measured on a 14-item scale designed for this study. The study showed that moral disengagement related to bullying and varied as a function of gender, which supports the relevance of considering gender in moral education anti-bullying programs. Next, the study revealed significant differences in moral disengagement between classrooms. This finding points to the need to elucidate associations between moral disengagement and classroom characteristics.

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adolescence aggressive behavior bullying moral cognition moral disengagement

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